Apple tablet set for spring launch? — Production is starting and should hit mass-market stride in February, says an analyst — Artist's rendition of an Apple tablet computer, with iPhone. Credit: AppleInsider — “The manufacturing cogs for the tablet are creaking into action,” …

Join this group: Google Groups joins Google Apps — Blogs, wikis, social networks, YouTube and Twitter are changing how many of us connect with others. Yet within most businesses, especially large corporations, the software hasn't evolved much over the last decade.

The Droid Has Been Rooted — Now What? — The Motorola/Verizon Droid is a brand new phone today. Like many smartphones before it, the Droid has been rooted so that owners of the Android 2.0-based smartphone can install multitouch support (including pinch-to-zoom gestures), enhanced themes, and other previously forbidden goodies.

Opening the Gates, and Unleashing Data! — MySpace is a busy place. For example, our users share approximately 35 million public activities and updates per day. As a platform, we're committed to open standards, and providing rich data, available to the world in real-time.

Two Publishers Delay E-Books — Simon & Schuster is delaying by four months the electronic-book editions of about 35 leading titles coming out early next year, taking a dramatic stand against the cut-rate $9.99 pricing of e-book best sellers. — A second publisher, Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group …

Greystripe Launches Ads For Android — Mobile advertising network Greystripe is rolling out its ad formats for the Android this morning, offering Android app developers with an an Android SDK and an opportunity to monetize their applications. Greystripe, which has delivered ads …

Le Web 2009 Roundtable: What Makes A Platform, Exactly? — This is an overview of what was said during the panel conversation at Le Web on Platforms, which was moderated by our own Mike Arrington. (right) — Lots of panelists for this particular discussion - the conference organizers managed …

Droid trumps iPhone for Time Gadget of the Year — Time today provided a minor surprise by giving the Motorola Droid a first-place finish in its Gadget of the Year countdown (video below). The Android phone won for including free turn-by-turn GPS through Google Maps Navigation as well as having …

FTC Targets RoboCalls — The FTC said Tuesday that it has filed suit against three firms for allegedly making “hundreds of thousands or even millions” of robocalls to consumers in violation of the Do Not Call rule and other laws. The three groups targeted allegedly called consumers in a bid to sell …

Cisco Wins First Big Server Deal With Savvis Cloud — Cisco has scored its first major customer for its unified computing system in Savvis, a hosting provider that's building out a computing cloud for enterprise users. Savvis, which has been releasing details over the last few months …

Ebay exec emails: Feign surprise to Craigslist — * Feign surprise if Craigslist balks, eBay exec wrote — Emails from a top eBay Inc (EBAY.O) executive showed the Internet giant was aware that a competing online classifieds site it launched while sitting on the board of Craigslist …

60 Million People A Month Use Facebook Connect — Facebook's Director Development Network Ethan Beard took the stage at the Le Web conference in Paris to talk about the status of Facebook Connect. — Beard's talk focused on the notion of identity as defined by connections - to people …

Study: Redbox Will Destroy the Entertainment Industry — If you thought the movie 2012 was disaster porn, just wait for the entertainment apocalypse that Redbox's dollar-a-night movie rentals will bring about. That, in a nutshell, is the bottom line of a new report (PDF, hat tip to Video Business) …

Europe's Digital Divide Is North-South — By PAUL MELLER of IDG News Service\Brussels Bureau, IDG — A gaping geographical digital divide is emerging in the E.U., with countries in the south such as Greece, Bulgaria and Romania being left behind by more technology-savvy northern countries …

Microsoft and NetApp sign cloud deal — The three-year collaboration agreement will focus on private and public cloud management — Microsoft and data storage company NetApp announced today a three-year agreement that cements what had already been years of product collaboration and technical integration.